"The Beatitudes" - Matthew 5:1-12 February 3, Epiphany A Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Boise, Idaho Pastor Tim Pauls

Transcription

1 "The Beatitudes" - Matthew 5:1-12 February 3, Epiphany A Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Boise, Idaho Pastor Tim Pauls We have before us today the "Beatitudes" of Matthew 5, those blessings that Jesus pronounces as He begins the Sermon on the Mount. Much has been made of these Beatitudes, and many a book has been written about them. But what do they really mean? Not every interpretation of them has been correct. So today, we spend some time examining the Beatitudes, and we do so in a simple, yet hopefully eye-opening way: We'll look at the Beatitudes according to the Law, and then we'll look at them according to the Gospel. I. The Beatitudes According to the Law It is very common to see these Beatitudes as words of Law, as something we are supposed to do. They are often presented as "If/then" statements: "If you do these things, then God will bless you;" or "If you are these things, then you are blessed." If that's the case, then the Beatitudes are a code of behavior, guidelines for how we are supposed to act as Christians. But if this is what they are, is this Good News? Let's examine these verses according to the Law, until we're done or just too discouraged to go on. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," says our Lord. We hear: "If you are poor in spirit, then you will inherit heaven." What does it mean to be poor in spirit? It means, as St. Paul says, that you should never think more highly of yourself than you ought. It means always acknowledging your sin and how you do not deserve God's favor. It means never giving in to pride, never considering yourself better than anyone else. The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these: Since they admit their sinfulness and their constant need for forgiveness. Bear in mind that this is a constant state of mind. Jesus is not saying, "If you managed, some time or another, to be poor in spirit for a little while, you've earned the kingdom of heaven." No, to be blessed means that you are constantly humble, modest, poor in spirit. So, there's the first Beatitude, according to the Law: "Be poor in spirit, all the time. If you are, then heaven is yours." You will never live up to this demand; thus you will never be blessed. So why would Jesus announce this blessing that we could never achieve? "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted," Jesus continues. We hear, "If we mourn, then we earn God's blessing and comfort." Everyone mourns from time to time, especially at a time of a violent national tragedy or the death of a loved one. But the Lord is not referring to occasional times of grief; rather, He speaks of mourning all the time on account of the presence of sin and death in the world-a sober awareness of the destructive consequences of sin. The one who fulfills this mourning never delights in sin, never accepts some sins as "harmless" or "okay." Rather, the one who mourns in this way understands the serious consequences of all sins and of any sin, Matthew The Beautitudes (TJP) page 1

2 denouncing it all; such a one will be comforted by the Holy Spirit. So, there's the second Beatitude: "Mourn the presence of sin all the time and never delight in it, and then you will be comforted." You will never live up to this demand; thus you will never be blessed. So why would Jesus announce this blessing that we could never achieve? Jesus next says, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." We hear, according to the Law, "If you are meek, then you will inherit the earth." Meekness is power under control. To be meek is to take whatever power and authority you have and to use it in service to others, not yourself. To be meek means that you would never assert yourself to get your way, or bully someone into doing things the way you want; nor would you ever use power or politicking to gain advantage over anyone else. Therefore, the third Beatitude, according to the Law: "If you are always meek and never seek to get your own way at the expense of others, you will inherit the earth." You will never live up to this demand; thus you will never be blessed. So why would Jesus announce this blessing that we could never achieve? "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled," proclaims the Lord. We hear, "If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, then you will be blessed." Ideally, we should always be seeking out forgiveness, holiness and righteousness. We should be leaping at the chance to hear, again and again, of God's love and forgiveness in Christ. We do not, however, live ideal lives. Rather than consider righteousness to be something we want, instead we regard it as an extra chore we have to go through in order to make up for our sin. Far from hungering and thirsting for righteousness, the Old Adam leads us to say, "Give me the righteousness I need and let me be on my way, because I have far more important things to do." That's not exactly hungering and thirsting for righteousness; it is, however, reality. And here's that fourth Beatitude as a requirement for us: "If you always hunger and thirst for righteousness, you'll be filled." You will never live up to this demand; thus you will never be "Blessed are the merciful," says Jesus, "for they shall obtain mercy." "Be merciful," we hear, "and God will show you mercy." To be merciful means that you don't wish or give the full punishment that someone deserves. If you are always merciful, it means that you are always kind and never thinking ill thoughts about someone else. This includes those who are rude or spiteful; this includes those who have hurt you deeply. If you are living up to this level of mercifulness, you will never find yourself involuntarily brooding about what others have done; rather, you will hope for their best in all things. So, the fifth Beatitude as something for us to do: "If you are always merciful to others, God will be merciful to you." You will never live up to this demand; thus you will never be blessed. So why would Jesus announce this blessing that we could never achieve? Well, I'm getting discouraged; but we only have a few left, so we might as well continue. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," declares Jesus. "If you keep yourself pure, you'll see God," we hear; and you're probably already getting that sinking feeling. To be pure in Matthew The Beautitudes (TJP) page 2

3 heart means not only that we don't do anything wrong on the outside, but that we're never even thinking of doing wrong. A pure heart is never attracted to sin, nor does it slip up and give in when provoked. A pure heart would never covet, gossip, or lust. Please note: A pure heart doesn't mean that one stops coveting or lusting soon after one starts; it means that the temptation never finds a foothold at the beginning. By the time one finds that he is lusting, the heart is already impure. And that's the sixth Beatitude: "If you keep your heart pure, you can be in God's presence in heaven for eternity." You will never live up to this demand; thus you will never be blessed. So why would Jesus announce this blessing that we could never achieve? "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God," continues our Lord. We hear, "If you make peace, then God is your Father." Those who are always making peace are never causing unrighteous strife, discord. They are never picking fights with their spouse at the end of a long day, nor do they ever yell at the kids because of stress at work. So hear that seventh Beatitude according to the Law: "If you are always making peace and never causing strife, you will be blessed." You will never live up to this demand; thus you will never be Let's take the last two together: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," says Jesus. "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." We hear, "If you endure persecution, then you will be blessed." If that isn't hard enough, look at what else Jesus says: You will be blessed if you speak the truth, take the scorn and the evil and the slander; and if you do so with a joyful and exceedingly glad heart, counting yourself blessed for your suffering. This also means that you will never feel rage at your accusers or wish them evil, but will only feel pity and compassion towards them. Those are Beatitudes eight and nine: "If you gladly and constantly endure persecution for the sake of Jesus, then you will be blessed." You will never live up to this demand; thus you will never be Enough of this! If the Beatitudes are some sort of checklist that we are to fulfill, we're in trouble. If these are a list of merit badges that we're supposed to earn so that we can be promoted to heaven, we're in BIG trouble. These blessings call for continuous perfection on our part. And once again, we note: You will never live up to these demands; thus, if this is yours to do, you will never be blessed. So why would Jesus announce these blessings that we could never achieve? The answer is simple: So that we might be all the more confident and joyful of our salvation in Him. To hear these Beatitudes in the way of the Law, as something we're supposed to do, should be setting off warning bells in our heads: God doesn't pour out His blessings upon us by His Law, but by His Gospel. He gives them to us for the sake of Jesus. Therefore, we best take another look at these Beatitudes according to the Gospel. II. The Beatitudes According to the Gospel Matthew The Beautitudes (TJP) page 3

4 We declare the Gospel for all to hear, for this is the foundation of all blessings: Jesus Christ, perfect Son of God from eternity, was born to Mary and became man. He lived a perfect and sinless life, then died on the cross for the sins of the world. He is risen again, and He gives you forgiveness for all of your sins in the means of grace. Because Jesus has died for your sins and been raised from the dead, God the Father opens heaven for you and pours out His blessings upon you. Therefore, all of His blessings are yours for the sake of Jesus-who fulfills the beatitudes for you. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," says Jesus. Jesus is perfectly poor in spirit: During His ministry, He could well have said, "I'm the best," "I deserve all the glory," "You all should be doing what I desire." Had He said these things, He would not have been boastful: He would only have been telling the truth! Still, He didn't spend time commanding worship. Rather, He humbled Himself and deigned to take on human flesh with its frailties, and even go to the crosseven though He was innocent of all sin! We fail miserably at being poor in spirit, and so we do not deserve the kingdom of heaven. Jesus declares, "Take heart! I became poor in spirit for you so that I might take away your sins. And since your sins are gone, I give you the kingdom of heaven." "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Jesus mourned the presence of sin and death; it's why He was born of Mary, so that He could die for us. Rather than mourn sin, we're often busy committing it. The Lord responds, "I know your sin, and so I've suffered and died your death so that I might call you to repentance and comfort you with forgiveness. Repent and believe the Gospel!" "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," says Jesus. As the all-powerful Son of God, Jesus certainly could have thrown His weight around and cleaned up the world at our expense. Instead, He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:7-8). We fail at meekness, so often seeking to get our own way. Jesus responds, "That is why I gave up all privilege and went to the cross-to redeem you, forgive you, and bless you with a new heaven and earth that will not pass away. Repent and believe the Gospel!" "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." Jesus did so, literally. In the wilderness, tempted by the devil, Jesus fasted and went hungry as He resisted all temptation for your sake. On the cross, He thirsted as His Father punished Him for the sins of the world. Again, in our sin we hardly hunger and thirst for righteousness, considering it an additional chore because of our sin; this hardly merits blessing. The Lord declares, "I have already suffered, hungered, thirsted and died for your sake. Therefore, I forgive you and fill you with my righteousness. Repent and believe the Gospel!" "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." "Have mercy on me!" cried the sick, the blind and the possessed to Jesus, and He did. Rather than leave them as they were, He gave them health and sight and faith. We don't deserve the forgiveness He has died to give us; we deserve His wrath and punishment. But the Lord is merciful, not giving what we deserve. Instead, He mercifully and graciously declares, "I forgive you for all of your sins. Repent and believe the Gospel!" "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Jesus, the perfect Son of God, was made the Matthew The Beautitudes (TJP) page 4

5 sinner guilty of all sin on the cross as the Father punished Him for our wrongs. But God the Father raised Him from the dead; "He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty." Our sinful hearts keep us out of God's presence and away from His grace. Jesus announces, "But I take away your sin and impurity; I create in you a clean heart. Therefore, I will raise you sinless from the dead; and you will look upon the face of God and live. Repent and believe the Gospel!" "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, made peace with God for us by taking away the sins that made us His enemies. If we're God's enemies, heaven is out of the question. Jesus declares, "Your sins are no more, because I have taken them to the cross; I have made peace between you and God, and you are now children and heirs of heaven. Repent and believe the Gospel!" "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake." This is fulfilled in Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame. He has suffered the torture, the scorn and the death. It is all too easy for us sinners to remain silent when we should speak, to avoid persecution, and to fail to rejoice when persecution comes. Jesus responds, "But I have already stood up and suffered for you. Therefore, yours is the kingdom of heaven. Repent and believe the Gospel!" Do you see? Rejoice and be exceedingly glad! The Beatitudes are no blessing if we believe it is up to us to fulfill them-we cannot keep a one of them, much less all of them (all the time!). But though we cannot keep them, we delight in them-why? Because they point us to Christ! They send us straight to Jesus, who has fulfilled them all to give us the blessings. In fact, the more impossible those Beatitudes are for us, the more we delight in them-because they show all the more the great work that Jesus has done. Furthermore, with forgiveness comes strength and sanctification, for we are set free from sin. The Holy Spirit is at work to strengthen our faith so that we might respond by being meek, merciful and poor in spirit; so that we can make peace and mourn sin; so that we can stand up for the truth of God's Word, even when persecution comes along. All of this is yours on account of Christ. In service to you, He has been poor in spirit, grief-stricken over sin, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker and persecuted. He has done all this for you on His way to the cross to die your death. For His sake, God the Father declares, "Because of My Son, all these blessings are yours. Truly, blessed are you, for you are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Amen Matthew The Beautitudes (TJP) page 5